Schools

(WXIA) -- The Constitutional Officers Association of Georgia is offering three scholarships to Georgia's college students and high school seniors.

To qualify for the COAG Scholarship, a student must be a high school senior or GED candidate and a Georgia citizen, and should be scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2014.

Current students at accredited Georgia colleges and universities are also welcome to apply. The scholarship is available to students majoring in government or law enforcement; political science; accounting or finance; business; or pre-law.

COAG is offering scholarships in three amounts -- $500, $1,000 and $1,500. Applicants must write a 1,000-word essay that answers the question "Who are the locally elected constitutional officers and what differentiates them from other county offices?"

(WXIA) -- The public school graduation rate in Georgia continues to climb.

The Georgia Department of Education announced Wednesday that the state's graduation rate was 71.5 percent in 2013 -- almost two points higher than in 2012 and four points above 2011's rate.

Every state uses a U.S. Department of Education-mandated four-year adjusted cohort rate to calculate graduations. It tracks the number of students who graduate from high school within the standard four years.

State superintendent Dr. John Barge said the more rigorous calculation method still shows an increase in Georgia's graduation rate.

"Despite the economic challenges our districts are facing, we have more high school students graduating today than we have had in several years, which is a testament to the hard work of our students and teachers," Barge said in a statement.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -- State Bridge Crossing Elementary school was the sort of place where the front doors were unlocked during the day.

Secretaries in the front office could see out the all glass front and would wave parents into the office to sign in. But that changed after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

But that could change very soon. The Fulton County School Board is voting on a measure next week that would use the funds from the education sales tax to place a locked door buzzer entryway system at the county's 100 public schools.